May the Road Rise Up

May the Road Rise Up came to an end in Down Arts Centre on Friday 20th April 2018 in a sold out venue in Downpatrick.

The production had travelled the length and breadth of Northern Ireland thanks to the Arts Council Of NI, Belfast City Council and our business sponsor Doyle Shipping Group. It was a fantastic show that sold out at numerous venues on tour.

c21 was then presented with a wonderful opportunity in 2018 to tour their hit show ‘May the Road Rise Up’ to Melbourne, Australia in June 2019. The opportunity arose after the National Celtic Festival (Portarlington, Victoria) approached the company about the possibility of a joint production in Oz. With help from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Travel Grants and International Programme for Organisations Contribution), Doyle Shipping Group and the National Celtic Festival, the company was able to take on a mini-tour of the Victoria region. Rosemary Jenkinson (Writer), Stephen Kelly (Director), Christine Clare (Actor) and Aaron Cathcart (Technical Manager) embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. Port Fairy (formerly Belfast) was the first stop where we played to a full house. We then took part in a pod cast recording in the local Blarney Books where our Author Rosemary Jenkinson read and discussed her new book, Catholic Boy.

The team then moved on to Portarlington, which was located one hour out of Melbourne. The National Celtic Festival was the destination and the reception was fantastic. We went on to perform in sold out shows while also taking part in numerous literary events, Q&A’s and seminars. The festival was a special place and the audience feedback was very positive: